NAUI Scuba Diver
16 Continual Improvement
yourselves before proceeding with the dive. Begin your
dive into any current so that you can return to the boat
with the current in your favor. The boat will deploy a
trail line off the stern in case you surface down current.
If you are drift diving or live-boat diving, you will dive
with the current and the boat will follow. In drift diving,
it is important that the group stay together and surface
together, not scatter all over the bottom.
The Dive Plan is an essential part of every dive. Once
you have decided to make the dive, you and your dive
partner need to plan the details together. You should
establish the depth for the dive and its duration. You
should also agree on your air management plan. The
maximum depth of the site may determine the depth
of your dive. Your dive objective, your training, or your
comfort level may be the determining factors if you are
diving on a wall or a drop-off. The planned duration of
the dive will be limited by the time allowed by your dive
tables. It could also be determined by the cylinder size
and your knowledge of your air consumption rate.
You must also take your available air into account.
With good air planning, you will be able to return to your
exit point underwater without a long surface swim. The
turnaround point should be based on the diver with the
higher air consumption. Remember that most dives are
round trips, and you will exit at or near where you entered
the water. There are no air fill stations underwater for the
recreational diver. Turn the dive while you still have enough
air remaining for your swim back. For simple dives, many
divers will begin their return when half of their available air
remains (allowing an appropriate amount for reserve air).
A safer procedure is one which is used in advanced dive situations.
Called the “Rule of Thirds,” the divers turn the dive
after one-third of the available air is used. This allows onethird
for return and one-third for contingencies. Technical
divers engage in elaborate gas management plans in which
their gas consumption at every stage of the dive is factored
into the dive plan.
The three parts of depth, time, and air are the foundation
of any dive plan. There are other factors, too, that
have already been discussed, such as method of entry,
planning for the safest utilization of currents, and contingency
exit points. Compass bearings and the general
pattern of the dive should also be decided together.
When you have agreed on your dive plan, assemble
and don your equipment and conduct a thorough buddy
check (figure 2-4). Pace yourselves as you assemble your
equipment and don your thermal protection so that you
do it in tandem. If you rush to get ready, you may be
standing in your wetsuit in the hot sun for an extended
period, waiting for your buddy to finish getting ready.
The buddy check is an essential part of every dive.
Whether you are diving with a new dive partner or an
old friend, a thorough pre-dive check is fundamental
to a safe dive. The buddy check has several purposes. It
familiarizes each of you with the other’s equipment and
its configuration. Either of you should be able to assist
the other with equipment problems if needed. It is an
opportunity to double-check that your own, as well as
your buddy’s equipment, is operational before entering
the water. It lets you discuss contingencies such as handling
an out-of-air situation while you are looking at
your equipment.
You may have learned a mnemonic, such as
SEABAG, in your entry level course to help you remember
the steps of dive planning and equipment checks.
SEA refers to dive planning and stands for site survey,
emergency plans, and activity. BAG refers to the points
of a buddy check and refers to buoyancy system, air, and
gear. Another way to perform a buddy check is to begin
at your heads and together match each piece of equipment
as you work your way towards your feet. Whatever
you use to remember the process, you will check several
specific points in order to be sure everything is present
and operational.
Buoyancy Compensator:
1. Compare the operation of your BC inflation systems.
Determine how you would add air, both
orally and using the low-pressure inflator. Push
the inflator button on your buddy’s BC to make
sure you know how to operate it.
2. Familiarize yourself with the closures and releases
of the BC. Look for a cummerbund, waist belt,
chest clip, and shoulder releases. Some divers
attach their gauge consoles to the opposite side of
the front of their BC. Look for this. It will be one